DESTEUCTION OF IMMATUEE FISH. 159 



were catching and destroying " vast numbers " of small soles. Only- 

 one small sole^ three inches in length, was taken, but with it were 

 numbers of young scaldfish {Arnoglossus latorna), which may easily 

 be mistaken for young soles on cursory examination. On May 8tli 

 of this year in the same locality several hauls of the trawl brought 

 up, besides worthless gobies and dragonets, two specimens of Solea 

 minvta, two and a half and three inches long, two dabs {Pleuronectes 

 limanda) two or three inches long, and one scaldfish two inches long. 

 Solea minuta is a distinct and absolutely worthless species, which 

 never exceeds five inches in length ; it is commonly mistaken for a 

 young sole. On May 9th the fisherman caught two marketable soles 

 (seven inches and thirteen and a half inches long) below Plymouth 

 citadel, and numbers of small dabs two inches long and upwards. 

 On May 10th, trawling in the Catte water, he took six Solea vulgaris, 

 six and three quarter to seven and three quarter inches in length, 

 and twenty-two dabs, one and three quarters to six inches in length. 

 In August, 1888, the fisherman was instructed several days in suc- 

 cession to bring up to the Laboratory undersized flat-fish brought in 

 by the trawlers. They all proved to be scaldfish {Arnoglossiis laterna). 

 At the time it was being reported that an immense number of young 

 soles were being destroyed. 



It seems to be clearly established that plaice under six inches in 

 length congregate in large numbers in particular places, often re- 

 ferred to as " nurseries. ^^ They are caught in numbers at all depths 

 less than twenty fathoms. Such a nursery has recently been dis- 

 covered and described in Nature by the Fishery Board for Scotland, 

 and it is remarkable that nearly the whole of the 596 undersized 

 plaice taken by Professor Mcintosh during his experimental trawling 

 were captured in St. Andrews Bay. The largest number taken by 

 him in one haul was 122 in four and a half fathoms of water, but the 

 next largest numbers, 65 and 64, were taken in twelve and twenty 

 fathoms respectively. The only " nursery " practically known by 

 the Marine Biological Association is the estuary of the Plym, called 

 the Cattewater. The fishing in the upper part of this estuary, from 

 Oreston to Laira Bridge and upwards, is the private property of the 

 Earl of Morley. 



Fishing with seine nets last autumn, the lessee of the fishing, Mr. 

 Henry Clark, Q.C., in seven hauls captured some 200 plaice less than 

 seven inches long, together with others of larger size. All the small 

 fish were returned alive into the water, and this is always done in 

 this private water, but below Oreston, where the fishing is public, 

 the small plaice are destroyed wilfully or through negligence. On 

 the 16th of May Mr. Cunningham saw large numbers of young plaice 

 {Pleuronectes platessa) , herring [Glwpea harengus) , and pollack {Oadus 



